A second-round selection in the 2012 NFL Draft, Hayward appeared in 51 regular-season games for the Packers, including 20 starts. Hayward intercepted nine passes during his four-year career with the Packers.

GREEN BAY — Four Packers players were awarded game balls by the coaching staff for their performances in Green Bay’s 38-17 victory over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

On offense, the game balls went to offensive tackles Bryan Bulaga and David Bakhtiari. Their blocking on the edges contributed to RBs Eddie Lacy and James Starks averaging better than five yards per carry each, while QB Aaron Rodgers posted a lofty 154.5 passer rating.

On defense, a game ball went to CB Casey Hayward, who intercepted a pass for the second straight game. Hayward now has eight interceptions in his career.

On special teams, a game ball went to veteran Jarrett Bush, who played 26 snaps on special teams alone and posted a season-high three coverage tackles.

Packers starting RT Don Barclay missed his second straight practice on Thursday with a knee injury, but Head Coach Mike McCarthy said he was going to give Barclay every opportunity to get himself healthy enough to play on Sunday.

RT Don Barclay

“He didn’t probably feel as good today as we had hoped,” McCarthy said, explaining Barclay did only rehab but did not practice. “We’ll see how he is tomorrow. I’m going to give him the full week to try to give it a go.”

If Barclay is unable to play, the Packers’ options would be to start Marshall Newhouse — who has filled in at RT in each of the last two games when Barclay had to shift over to RG — or to give Derek Sherrod his first game action since Dec. 2011.

Also on the offensive line, C Evan Dietrich-Smith was a limited participant in practice for the second straight day. Thursday’s practice was in pads and Dietrich-Smith was not held out, so that bodes well for his chances to play.

McCarthy also said CB Casey Hayward (hamstring) will be out “multiple weeks.” On the defensive line, Johnny Jolly (groin) sat out for the second straight day, and Ryan Pickett (knee) was limited.

The Packers lost two starters on the offensive line to injury in last week’s game, but there appears to be a chance for the starting unit to remain intact for the road trip to play the Giants.

C Evan Dietrich-Smith (knee) was back at practice on Wednesday on a limited basis, while RT Don Barclay (knee) did not practice. Mike McCarthy said, however, that Barclay was waiting for a brace to arrive and he could try to practice on Thursday.

“He’s getting better,” McCarthy said of Barclay. “Better than we thought.”

Dietrich-Smith said the scans done on his knee were “encouraging,” and he sounded optimistic about being able to play.

“I’d like to think of myself as a very durable player,” Dietrich-Smith said. “I don’t miss too many games, and for me, it’s important to be out there with the guys. I was out there today and I felt like practicing the whole time, but I knew I have to be smart, and you can’t push those kinds of things. I’m hoping for the weekend, and we’ll see how it goes.”

In other injury news, DE Mike Neal (abdomen) is “beat up,” according to McCarthy, and may not practice all week.

DE Johnny Jolly (groin), LB Nick Perry (foot/ankle) and CB Casey Hayward (hamstring) also did not practice. LB Andy Mulumba (ankle) and DE Ryan Pickett (knee) were limited, while LB Clay Matthews (thumb) was listed as a full participant.

Amidst all the injuries the Packers are dealing with, they’re actually starting to get healthier at some spots, which “encouraged” Head Coach Mike McCarthy.

RB James Starks

RB James Starks (knee) returned to practice on Wednesday and was listed as a full participant, though it was a non-padded practice. Starks has been out since injuring his knee in the first half at Cincinnati in Week 3.

“James Starks looked good,” McCarthy said. “Looks to be back. We didn’t do a whole lot of team (drills) today. We were in helmets. Did a lot of jog-through and a lot of teaching periods today. Based on the workload, I thought he looked fine.”

Also listed as full participants were three players with hamstring injuries — LB Brad Jones, CB Jarrett Bush and CB Casey Hayward.

McCarthy said Jones is being “eased” back into things, but this marks the second straight week Hayward has practiced on Wednesday and appears on track to work every day. Hayward has yet to play this season after missing all but three practices in training camp.

“When push came to shove, he was close last week,” McCarthy said. “It’s good for him to get his confidence back. I think he’ll be ready to go with a full week of work.”

McCarthy didn’t have anything new to report on TE Jermichael Finley, who is seeking opinions from multiple specialists regarding his neck injury and his future outlook. Finley remains in a local hospital but continues to improve.

“We’re going to wait until everything comes in,” McCarthy said, referring to the medical reports. “(Team physician) Pat McKenzie is collecting all the information, and we’ll do our due diligence. We will not be premature on anything, and we will do what’s in the best interest of Jermichael Finley. That’s where we are.”

For the full report from the Packers’ locker room on Wednesday, click here.

T Derek Sherrod participated in practice for the first time this season on Wednesday, which begins a three-week window during which he can practice without being on the 53-man roster.

T Derek Sherrod

Sherrod was placed on reserve/physically unable to perform toward the end of training camp, the second straight camp he missed while rehabbing a leg in which he broke multiple bones back in Week 15 of 2011in Kansas City.

That’s the last time Sherrod was in pads, and he’ll put the pads back on Thursday for the first time in 22 months as he continues what has been a long road back.

“It will be great to see that,” Head Coach Mike McCarthy said.

The process will remain gradual, however.

“The individual work will be good for him. How we integrate him into the team work is something we’ve talked about,” McCarthy said.

“We’re not just going to roll him out there and say, hey, let’s go play 55 snaps in pads. I don’t think that’s really smart, especially after what he’s been through and the path he had to take to get to this point. We will break him in and push him as hard as we can and just be smart.”

With his three-week window to come off PUP underway, Sherrod will have to be added to the active roster by the start of Week 10 if he’s to play this season. Last year, he tried to practice around midseason for a few days but was never activated from PUP and missed the entire year.

During the portion of practice open to the media, Sherrod physically was moving around far better than at any time last season. Having gone through multiple surgeries since the injury, progress has been slow but evident.

“I feel really good just to be able to do everything out there with my teammates,” he said. “It was a pretty tough deal, but I was keeping my head up and pushing myself each and every single day, making sure I was going to be able to get to this point.”

CB Casey Hayward (hamstring) was also practicing on Wednesday, listed as a limited participant on the official injury report. Two weeks ago, Hayward practiced on a Thursday, then last week he practiced on Thursday and Friday. This was his first Wednesday practice, meaning this could be the first week he participates in all the workouts if he has no setbacks.

There’s no official word on when he’ll be available to play, but he’s obviously getting closer. McCarthy said he needs “more information” to determine if Hayward is ready.

“I’m just trying to get back in the same rhythm I was,” said Hayward, who had six interceptions as a rookie last year but has yet to play in the 2013 regular season.

Hayward initially injured his hamstring before training camp, missed three weeks, returned for one week of practice, but then re-injured the hamstring in his first preseason game action.

“We’ll try not to rush it back this time,” he said. “The first time, we didn’t think we rushed it back. I felt good when I came back. It was just a freak accident, and those things happen in this sport, especially with hamstrings.

“It is a gray area. You really don’t know. Hopefully we judge it and be correct this time.”

On the final injury report for the week, Packers CB Casey Hayward ()hamstring) was ruled out for the fifth straight game, though he did practice on a limited basis on Friday and might be able to return full-time next week.

“Casey is further ahead this week than he was last week, but he’s not ready to go,” Head Coach Mike McCarthy said. “We’ll do the testing process Monday or Tuesday like we normally do, and we’ll see where he is as we prepare for Wednesday’s practice.”

Also on the injury report, CB Jarrett Bush (hamstring) is listed as questionable for the game, while OLB Andy Mulumba (ankle) returned to practice on a limited basis after missing Wednesday’s and Thursday’s workouts and is probable. ILB Sam Barrington (hip) was added to the report and missed Friday’s practice, but he is also probable, as is DE Ryan Pickett (hand).

Packers CB Casey Hayward, who has yet to play this season due to a hamstring injury, was back on the practice field on Thursday in full pads for the second straight week. He was a limited participant.

T Derek Sherrod

After returning to practice last Thursday, Hayward experienced soreness and was held out of practice for a full week, and Mike McCarthy was pleased with the progress he saw.

“I thought he looked good today. He was bouncing around, had a smile on his face,” McCarthy said. “I think he’s getting close. His exam tomorrow will be important. Last week, he was very sore, so he wasn’t ready. We’ll see what tomorrow brings.”

This is the first week that Hayward hasn’t been ruled “out” for the game on the injury report. That doesn’t mean he’ll play this week, but it’s a sign he’s on track to return soon, barring any setbacks.

In other injury news, DE Ryan Pickett was added to the injury report with a bruised hand, but he returned to practice after getting it looked at and said he’ll be fine. Pickett said nothing was broken.

“Just a little ice and I’ll be ready to go Sunday,” he said. “Of course they checked it out, so I’m good. Everything’s good. Just beat up a little bit.”

Rookie OLB Andy Mulumba (ankle) missed his second day of practice this week, but McCarthy is still holding out hope he can practice on Friday and be active for the game. Without Clay Matthews, the Packers only have three healthy OLBs at the moment in Nick Perry, Mike Neal and rookie Nate Palmer.

RB James Starks (knee) is out this week, but McCarthy is encouraged by what he’s seen in Starks’ rehab. “I don’t think it’s going to be as long as some of the past injuries,” he said.

Finally, T Derek Sherrod is getting ready to come off the PUP list. McCarthy didn’t confirm that he will come off the list next week, when he and the rest of the PUP players are first eligible, but he does expect Sherrod to be able to play this season.

Sherrod, the Packers’ 2011 first-round draft pick, broke multiple bones in his lower leg in Week 15 of 2011 at Kansas City and missed all of last season, plus all of training camp this past summer. McCarthy felt that when the regular season started, he could see Sherrod getting closer to returning to the field.

“I really felt at the end of training camp his workouts went to a different level,” McCarthy said. “He’s in excellent shape. He’s obviously a lot stronger than he was this time last year. As I’ve stated, it was a very, very serious injury. He needed the extra time. He looks good. He’s champing at the bit.

“The next hurdle is he needs to get in pads, and once he gets over that hurdle, I think he’ll be ready to go.”